Lake Junaluska

Saturday Kade and I joined up with some members of the Asheville meetup group, Urban Legends. We went on a wonderful picnic and walk in a stunningly beautiful part of Western North Carolina, thirty minutes outside Asheville. Luckily, we had a guide named Allan (seen above) who lives in the area. Besides adequate exercise, our group got lessons in North Carolina History and in Botany and Dendrology. I plan to see if I can get transfer credits at UNCA!  Enjoy my video creation!

Yes, I am interested in the family tree, and in particular the Solomon branch.  In fact, on returning from Asheville I had planned a side trip to Lake Junaluksa, the Methodist retreat where they have a museum and the archives of the church.  I had told our minister here in Vinings about my great, great grandfather (may have missed another great) who was in Georgia when John and Charles Wesley came over from England.  As you may know, John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist religion.  Great, great granddad was so taken with John Wesley that he named great grandfather John Wesley Solomon, and this was the namesake for James Wesley Vann, Uncle Jim.  John Wesley Solomon became a Methodist minister and when Andy Jackson ran the Indians out of the area, he rode the west side of the Chattahoochee River setting up Methodist churches.  I think that he ended up around Pittsview (?) Alabama somewhere above Abbeville.  Didn't we have a relative named Emma Pitts? 

At any rate, I had hoped to discover his history and church foundings/ministries documented within the Methodist Church.  For all I know, he may have founded our little Methodist church here in Vinings.  We incorporated it a few years ago for the first time since 1872.  It has been active here since that time.  Wouldn't it be cool if he was the founder?   - Cousin Jack Vann, Jr.